Kurenai Yuhi: 3-kami-kun, do you have any tips for mastering ninjutsu?

This is a lie.

In fact, Yu Mikami relied on gaining favor with those "beautiful girls" to obtain physical attribute points from the backwater system, forcibly raising his physical fitness so that he could barely train with Might Guy and his son to get here.

However, it seems that 8 points of physical fitness is still not enough, and we need to find a way to add a few more.

the other side.

Might Guy gave a thumbs-up, his enthusiastic eyes looking at Yu Mikami: "Excellent! Yu! This perseverance is the most dazzling light of youth! Your physical foundation is so much stronger than before!"

"...So now, am I qualified to ask Uncle Dai about that 'secret technique'? I know it represents the ultimate essence of physical combat, a forbidden technique that uses the burning of life force to gain power. But I'm prepared for this! To protect what I cherish!"

Mikami Yu forced down his breathing, sat up straight, and his expression became extremely serious.

He had already dealt with Might Guy before and "accidentally" witnessed him practicing the Eight Gates, so he had brought up the topic before. Therefore, it didn't seem abrupt to bring it up again now.

Might Guy stared at the determination in Mikami Yu's eyes, remained silent for a few seconds, then slowly stood up, gave a thumbs up, and revealed his gleaming teeth: "Very good! I feel your determination!"

"But Yu, cultivating the 'Eight Gates Formation' is extremely arduous. It requires ten years of relentless effort to forge your body into an iron body capable of withstanding that violent power! Pain, monotony, sweat, and even blood are commonplace! You should understand that!"

"I see!"

Yu Mikami nodded in response without hesitation.

"Then... prove it to me!"

Might Guy pointed to the long road ahead and said loudly, "If you can complete the task of running ten laps around Konoha Village every day for ten consecutive days, I will teach you the training method of the Eight Gates!"

"...Alright! Ten days it is! Uncle Dai, it's a deal!"

Yu Mikami said.

Since the 8-point bonus to his physique allowed him to complete nine laps, an extra one or two points should be enough to finish ten laps. So, if everything goes smoothly, he should be able to meet Might Guy's requirements and learn the Eight Gates in as little as half a month or as long as a month.

By then, it will only be January of next year, before the graduation exams.

in time.

"Ha! This is what youth should be like! I believe in you, Yu!"

Mighty laughed, did another handstand, and called to his son, "Kay, let's keep going! Let's sprint to the tenth lap!"

"Yes, Dad!"

Might Guy immediately followed with renewed enthusiasm, not forgetting to turn back and flash a bright white smile at Mikami Yu along the way: "Yu! I'll challenge you again!"

Watching the father and son in green bodysuits disappear into the distance as they once again became two moving "youthful" landscapes, Mikami Yu leaned against the tree trunk, feeling a wave of exhaustion wash over him, but his eyes remained unusually bright.

Ten days, ten laps... I still need to work harder to improve my favorability!

For Mikami Yu, who is currently working on six ninjutsu techniques simultaneously, it's already quite difficult to max out the affinity level for all six techniques every day.

Unless he does absolutely nothing all day but talk and practice.

but……

Considering that each level of favorability increases constitution by 1 point, it might be more effective to target ninjutsu that is close to being upgraded first.

……

A weekend passed in the blink of an eye.

A new week has begun.

Early in the morning, the bulletin board in front of the ninja academy's teaching building was packed with people. It turned out that the final exam results had been posted, attracting all the students to crowd around and stand on tiptoe to see them.

"Hey! The report cards are out! This time I'm finally not last!"

"Let's see who's number one!"

"Wow! It's Yu Mikami! Perfect score!"

"How is that possible? Isn't his weakness in practical training...?"

"His practical score is also very high! Look! He has the same score as Sarutobi Asuma, but his academic score is far ahead of Asuma's!"

"Hyuga Hido's ranking has dropped so much..."

""

Amidst the noise, Yu Mikami's name stood out prominently at the top of the list.

Obito Uchiha was also squeezed in the crowd, standing on tiptoe, anxiously searching for his name. He finally saw it far back and immediately slumped his head: "Ah... not again..."

He subconsciously turned his head to look in Nohara Rin's direction, only to find Nohara Rin standing with Mikami Yu, chatting and laughing. A strange sense of disparity immediately welled up in his heart, making Obito feel his face slightly hot.

Hmm... it's turned reddish-brown.

First place, Nohara Rin, it should all have been Obito's!

the other side.

Yu Mikami wasn't surprised by his first-place finish. After all, for him, getting a perfect score in academic subjects was basic. Although the score in the practical test was nominally based on the match against Mizuki, his previous use of the Three Body Technique to defeat Hinata Hido would definitely be taken into consideration by the teachers during the evaluation.

What's truly important is what impact this first-place finish will have going on.

Just as Mikami Yu coughed lightly, preparing to say something to Nohara Rin, he heard a soft voice from the side: "Mikami-kun, congratulations, you've really improved a lot this time."

"Thank you... Yuhi-kun."

Yu Mikami turned his head and met a fair face and a pair of ruby-like eyes.

It is the crimson sunset.

At this age, Kurenai Yuhi doesn't yet have the mature, long-haired look of an adult, but her clothing already hints at a futuristic style, with a red inner layer paired with a white outer garment. However, the lack of bandages on her hands and thighs makes her look somewhat incomplete.

At this moment, Kurenai hesitated for a moment before speaking again: "Mikami-kun, it might be a bit presumptuous of me to say this so suddenly, but... could I ask you for some tips on improving my combat performance? You know, my combat performance isn't very good either..."

"Um?"

Yu Mikami paused slightly, then said, "Well... there's no real trick to it, it's mainly about learning and practicing more..."

"Is there... anything more specific?"

Kurenai Yuhi blinked.

"Well... if I had to say something, it would be that you have to treat ninjutsu like people. You can't just practice for the sake of practicing. You should chat with ninjutsu more often to increase their favorability, occasionally give them gifts, and then have special interactions with them during certain special events..."

"What I mean is, as long as you treat ninjutsu with sincerity, ninjutsu will definitely reward you. Yes, that's it."

Mikami Yu said solemnly.

Kurenai Yuhi slightly opened her mouth, and after a long while, she managed to utter a sound: "...Huh?"